“I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.” Psalm 143:5 (NIV)

On our way to the coast, my husband and I stopped at Chick-fil-A. While Steve purchased our nuggets, I took our dog, Molly, for a walk in the grassy area nearby.

On our second turn around the plot of green, I noticed something shiny poking through the weeds. When I bent down to pick it up, my heart skipped a beat.

It was a silver cuff bracelet that read, This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior, all the day long. What left me slack-jawed wasn’t just that I found the bracelet but that the bracelet was mine!

Three weeks earlier, Steve and I had traveled the same road, stopped at the same spot and walked Molly on the same plot of grass. I didn’t even realize the bracelet had slipped from my wrist. But God did.

It was as if God were whispering, Don’t forget your story … Don’t lose the wonder.

See, I’ve had times in my life when I have forgotten the miracle of my story and the sheer wonder of all God has done in my life. How He sought me and saved me. How He pulled a little girl from a difficult home situation with many heart wounds and placed her in a family of believers with many healed hurts. How He took an insecure teenager and transformed her into a woman who knows she’s equipped by the Father, enveloped by Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

But sometimes the truth slips right out of my mind somewhere between everyday challenges and difficult disappointments, just like that bracelet slipped right off my wrist between Chick-fil-A and Dunkin' Donuts … and I don’t even realize it.

I wonder if that’s why the word “remember” is a golden thread that weaves its way throughout the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, God reminds us to remember.

In Deuteronomy, Moses wrote, “take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Deuteronomy 6:12, ESV).

David wrote, “I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done” (Psalm 143:5).

Remember. Don’t forget.

In the New Testament, Peter is a good example of a man who forgot his story. Jesus called Peter to become one of His first followers. Jesus was on the shore; Peter was in a boat. (Matthew 4:18-22)

But when Jesus was arrested and Peter denied he even knew Him, Peter lost his story. (Matthew 26:69-75) Just as surely as the bracelet fell from my wrist in the grassy knoll, Peter’s story fell from his heart behind the stone wall of the high priest’s home.

After Jesus was resurrected, he went to help Peter find his story … right where it had begun: on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was on the shore; Peter was in a boat.

Peter was fishing. He had gone back to doing what he’d always done before he met Jesus. Then Jesus called out and told Peter to throw the nets on the right side of the boat for a super catch. (John 21:6)

After Peter realized it was Jesus, he swam to the shore, where Jesus already had breakfast waiting. There, Jesus reminded Peter of his calling and helped him remember his story, what he had been (a fisherman) and what he was now (a fisher of men). (John 21:12-19)

I don’t know where you are today, if you’ve lost your story or you’re celebrating it. But I do know this: You’re reading these words because God is calling you to remember.

Remember that you have a place in His story of salvation.
Remember that, through faith, you are equipped by the Father, enveloped by Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Remember that you are a child of God who is dearly loved, completely forgiven and blamelessly free.

Remember what He has done in you and for you.

Remember your story. Remember His.

After I found my story bracelet lying among the weeds, I placed it on my wrist, gave it a squeeze to tighten its fit, and thanked God for all He has done. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the way You have changed some of my worst chapters into my greatest victories. Thank You for pursuing me, saving me and making me Your own. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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FOR DEEPER STUDY

Luke 22:19, “And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’” (ESV)

What did Jesus tell the disciples to do every time they took the bread and the cup? What exactly do you think He wanted them (and us) to remember?

In the comments, share a few elements of your story that you are thanking God for today.

© 2022 by Sharon Jaynes. All rights reserved.